Shuttle check for loom



G. N. PETERSON SHUTTLE CHECK FOR LOOM Filed May 27, 1953 July 19, 1955United States Patent() SHUTTLE CHECK FOR LOOM George N. Peterson,Grafton, Mass., assignor to Crompton & Knowles Loom Works, Worcester,Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Application May 27, 1953, SerialNo. 357,755 12 claims. (c1. 139-186) This invention relates to a shuttlebox providing checking means for a shuttle and it is the general objectof the invention to provide checking means which isbrought into actionby the shuttle itself as it vmoves in the shuttle box. i

Looms operating with stationary weft supplies ordi= narily employ smallshuttles which are propelledv at high speed. Because of the rate atwhich the shuttles travel and their size the usual type of shuttlechecks found on broad looms employing much larger shuttles are notsatisfactory due partly at least to angular motion of the usual shuttlecheck or brake. Such looms ordinarily have a form of shuttle guide todirect the shuttle through the warp shed and the shuttle box must becapable of delivering a shuttle in accurate alignment with the guides.

It is an importantv object of the present invention to provide a shuttlebox adapted more particularly for a small thread gripper shuttle whereinone side of the shuttle box is formed as a checking member mounted formovement lengthwise of the shuttle box and is associated with controlmeans, which may include inclined plane means, which forces the checkingmember against the shuttle incident to its lengthwise movement andmaintains it parallel to the shuttle box axis. The checking member isset into lengthwise motion by operating means moved by the shuttle andhaving connection with the checking member. The operating means extendsinto the path of the shuttle to be moved by the latter incident to itsmovement into the shuttle box.

It is a further object of the invention to provide the shuttle checkingmember with means which will permit it to move lengthwise of the shuttlebox but at the same time remain under control of the inclined planemeans.

It is a still further objectief the invention to provide return meanswhich will restore the movable shuttle check-v ing member to its normalposition along the length of the shuttle box when the shuttle is picked.

In a modified form of the invention the shuttle box is l made with awall which is also movable lengthwise of the shuttle box and hasoperating means similar to that of the checking member to be engaged bythe shuttle for the purpose of moving the wall simultaneously with thechecking member. In this form of the invention any heat which may bedeveloped incident to frictional sliding of' surfaces will be developedat points spaced from the shuttle and the latter can be made of metalwithout risk that heat resulting from frictional resistance will bedeveloped directly in it.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood reference is madeto the accompanying drawings which illustrate by way of example twoembodiments of the invention and in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of part of a loom having the preferred form of theinvention applied thereto,

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view showing part of the structure set forth inFig. 1, the shuttle being indicated as ompletely boxed,

,... 2,713,357 Ice Patented July 19 1955 Figs. 3 and 4 are transversevertical sections on lines 3-3 and 4-4, respectively, Fig. 2,

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section on line 5--5, Fig. 2,

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the relation of the parts uponentrance of a shuttle into the shuttle box and also just before thechecking member starts to move lengthwise of the shuttle box,

Fig. 7 is a view on a reduced scale similar to Fig. 2 but showing themodified form of the invention,

Figs. 8 and 9 are enlarged transverse sections on lines 8.-8 and 9--9,respectively, Fig. 7, and

Fig. 10 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the manner of operation ofthe modied form of the invention.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, the loom frame 1 supports a breastbeam 2 to which is secured a shuttle box support 3. The loom is providedwith shuttle guides 4 to direct the shuttle S in its flight across the,loom toward a shuttle box designated generally at B. The loom mayAoperate with a stationary supply of weft 5 and a weft presenter 6 whichholds the weft or filling thread F in position for attachment to theshuttle. The details of the presenter and shuttle are omitted herein butcan be made n in any approved form.

tive purposes to show one manner in which the invention can be utilized.The shuttle box to be set forth hereinafter however is not necessarilylimited in its use to such parts of the loom as have already beendescribed.

ln carrying the preferred form of the invention into effect the support3 has a bracket 10 bolted thereto as at l1 to support a horizontal plate12 secured in adjusted back and forth position on plate 12 by screws 13.The plate will generally be horizontal and support the several partswhich form the shuttle box. The plate may have a slot 14 for a pickerstick or the like 15, although the particular mechanism for picking theshuttle out of the shuttle box B need not necessarily use the stick andslot such as set forth for instance in Figs. 3 and 4.

The shuttle box B includes in its construction a front wall 20 providedwith transverse slots 21 to receive screws 22 which are tapped into thebase plate 12 as shown for instance in Fig. 3. The wall 20 has a rearshuttle engaging surface 23 which as shown herein is concave or V-`shaped in cross section, see Fig. 3. In the preferred form of theinvention the wall 2t) is held stationary on the plate 12 and theshuttle engaging surface 23 will be parallel toA the aligned guides 4 sothat the shuttle S when moved out of the shuttle box can be deliveredcorrectly to the guides.

The wall 20 forms one side of the shuttle box and as` shown herein willengage the front edge 24 of the shuttle S.

YThe rear part of the shuttle box includes a shuttle checking member 30which is mounted for sliding motion on plate-12 lengthwise of theshuttle box. The member 30 has a shuttle engaging surface 31 which maybe similar to surface 23 and parallel thereto. The shuttle' has a rearedge 32 parallel to its front edge 24 to engage the surface 31 when theshuttle is in the shuttle box.

Operating means are provided whereby motion of the"l shuttle as itapproaches the end of its travel into the shuttle box can causelengthwise movement of the checking member 30. As set forth herein thisoperating means may be an integral part or lug 34 extending into theshuttle box and across the path traversed by the shuttle. A spring 35interposed between an upright pin 36 on the checking member 30 and a pin37 projecting upwardlyv from stop lug 38 on the plate 12 tends normallyto hold 12 as shown for instance in Fig. 3 to hold the guide 40 forlateral adjustment but normally against transverse and lengthwise motionrelative to the shuttle box. Secured to the top of the guide member areright and left retaining plates 43 and 44, respectively, which are heldin position on the guide means by screws 45 and overhang the rear partof the checking member 30.

The checking member Sil has on the side thereof opposite its shuttleengaging surface 31 a surface 46 which is inclined toward the axis ofthe shuttle box and in. the direction of motion of the shuttle as itenters the box B, or in a direction from the inner shuttle receiving end47 of the shuttle box toward the outer end 48 thereof. In similar mannerthe guide means 4% has an inclined surface Si) which is parallel to theinclined surface 46. Between the two surfaces 46 and 5? there may beinterposed a plurality of anti-friction elements S1, such as balls,carried if desired by a cage 52 which supports the elements as a unit.Transverse tension springs S extend between pins S6 extending upwardlyfrom checking member and pins 57 extending upwardly from the guide means40. These springs 55 hold the movable inclined edge 46 against the balls51 and hold the latter against the xed inclined surface and have theeffect of causing these inclined surfaces to remain parallel when thechecking member is moved lengthwise of the shuttle box. The inclinedsurfaces 46 and 50 are in efl'ect control means which determine thecharacter of motion of the checking member as it moves toward the outerend of the shuttle box.

In the operation of the form of the invention thus far described thechecking member 30 will normally be held against stop 38 by spring 35,as shown diagrammatically in Fig. 6, prior to entry of the shuttle Sinto the shuttle box. adjacent to but spaced somewhat inwardly from theouter end 48 of the shuttle box. As the shuttle approaches the shuttlebox, having been picked from the right hand side of the loom ascontemplated in Fig. 6, it will leave the guides 4 from the full lineposition shown in Fig. 6 and pass between the surfaces 23 and 31 untilits advancing end engages the lug 34, as shown in dotted lines, Fig. 6.During this travel of the shuttle into the shuttle box the checkingmember 30 will remain substantially at rest, but as soon as the shuttleengages t ment of the inclined surface 46 along the anti-friction :t

elements in a direction parallel to inclined surface 50 and the members30 and 40 will cooperate with the operating means and shuttle to cause abodily transverse motion of the member 3i) relative to the shuttle boxwhich will force surface 31 against edge 32 of the shuttle which in turnwill force edge 24 of the shuttle against surface 23 of the front boxwall. During transverse motion of member 30 its shuttle engaging surface31 will remain parallel to wall 20. The shuttle will therefore besubjected to a lateral force which will stop it very promptly. Theantifriction elements may be omitted if desired.

In the modified form of the invention shown in Fig. 7 the checkingmember 30 and guide unit 4t) and part associated therewith will be thesame as described in connection with the preferred form, but the frontwall member 60 will be made so it can slide lengthwise of the shuttlebox along a second guide member 61 fastened to the base plate 12 in amanner similar to the wall 20. A spring 62 acts as indicated in Fig. 7to hold the sliding front wall. 60 to the right against a stop 63 onpart 12 and retaining plates 64 and 65 similar to plates 43 and 44 willbe secured to part 61 and overhang the sliding wall 60. In order thatthe wall 69 may be moved by the shuttle it is provided with an operatingmeans, such as The operating means such as the lug 34 will be lug 67similar to lug 34, which extends into the path of the shuttle to beengaged and moved by the latter.

In this modiiied form of the invention the shuttle entering the box willmove into the shuttle box and engage both the lugs 34 and 67 to move themembers 36 and 60 simultaneously lengthwise of the shuttle box in thedirection of travel of the shuttle, or from the full line to the dottedline position shown in Fig. 10. In

' this modified form there will be no appreciable relative motionbetween the edges 24 and 32 of the shuttle and :he lengthwise movablebox parts 30 and 60. As the member 30 moves transversely of the shuttlebox the wall member 60 will be forced forwardly against a fixed surface70 parallel to the box axis on the shuttle box member 61. Any heat whichis developed by frictional sliding of part 60 along surface 70, orresulting from movement of inclined surface 46, will therefore bedeveloped at points spaced from the shuttle. When the shuttle is pickedout of the modied form of box shown in Fig. 7 the spring 35 will act asalready described and in addition spring 62 will return the slide wall60 to the right, or in engagement with stop 63 as shown in Fig. 7.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention sets forth simplemeans wherein the shuttle when moving into the shuttle box causes acombined lengthwise and transverse motion of the shuttle checking member30 with respect to the shuttle box. It will further be seen that theparallelism of the surfaces 46 and 50 is maintained during lengthwisemotion of the member 30 and for this reason the shuttle engaging surface31 will remain parallel to the surface 24 on the shuttle wall and aclose fit between these surfaces and the contacting sides of the shuttlewill be maintained throughout the checking operation. Also, the springspermit the bodily transverse and lengthwise motion of the checkingmember 30 with respect to the shuttle box and the spring 35 restores thechecking member to normal position when the shuttle is picked. In themodified form of the invention the shuttle wall slides and is returnedto its normal position by spring 62, and the wall has operating means,such as the lug 67, to be moved by the advancing shuttle. The inclinedsurfaces on the checking and guide members may be considered to becontrol means which control the motion of the checking member and causeit to move toward the shuttle box wall when being moved toward the outerend of the shuttle box by the shuttle.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of theinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what isclaimed is:

l. In a shuttle box having an inner receiving end and an outer endtoward which a shuttle travels after entering the receiving end, theshuttle box having parallel front and back sides, a wall extending alongone side of the shuttle box, a checking member extending along theopposite side of the shuttle box mounted for lengthwise movement withrespect to the shuttle box and having a shuttle engaging surfaceparallel to said wall, operating means associated with the checkingmember located along the path of the shuttle beyond said inner end ofthe shuttle box to be moved by the shuttle after the latter has enteredsaid inner end of the box and is traveling toward said outer end of thebox and when so moved causing said lengthwise movement of the checkingmember, and control means cooperating with said operating means and theshuttle effective when the checking member has said lengthwise movementto give the checking member a lateral bodily movement toward said wallto exert a stopping force on the shuttle and maintain said surface onthe checking member parallel to said wall and the shuttle during saidlateral movement.

2. The shuttle. box set forth in claim 1 wherein said control meansincludes two parallel surfaces inclined toward the axis of the shuttlebox in the direction of motion of the shuttle into the shuttle box, oneof said inclined surfaces being stationary with respect to the shuttlebox and the other inclined surface being on the checking member.

3. In a shuttle box for the shuttle of a loom, a wall extending alongone side of the shuttle box, a shuttle checking member extending alongthe opposite side of the shuttle box mounted for bodily movementlengthwise of the shuttle box, said wall and member having shuttleengaging surfaces substantially parallel to the axis of the shuttle box,operating means extending into the shuttle box moved by the shuttleincident to entry of the shuttle into the shuttle box and when thusmoved effecting movement of the checking member lengthwise of theshuttle box in the direction of motion of the shuttle, and a guidemember for the checking member on the shuttle box held againstlengthwise movement relative to the shuttle box, said members havingsurfaces inclined toward the axis of the shuttle box and in saiddirection of motion of the shuttle cooperating when the checking memberhas said lengthwise movement thereof to effect bodily transversemovement of the checking member toward the shuttle to force the latteragainst said wall while maintaining the shuttle engaging surface of thechecking member parallel t0 the axis of the shuttle box.

4. The shuttle box set forth in claim 3 wherein antifriction elementsare interposed between the inclined surfaces of said checking and guidemembers.

5. The shuttle box set forth in claim 3 wherein resilient means act tomaintain the inclinde surface on the checking member in the sameposition relative to the inclined surface on the guide member duringsaid lengthwise movement of the checking member.

6. The shuttle box set forth in claim 3 wherein resilient means holdsthe checking member in normal position with said operating meanspositioned for engagement with the shuttle and yields to permit saidlengthwise movement of the checking member and returns the latter tonormal position when the shuttle leaves the shuttle box.

7. The shuttle box set forth in claim 3 wherein said wall is mounted toslider lengthwise of the shuttle box and has operating means similar tosaid operating mean of the checking member effective when moved by theshuttle to move the wall lengthwise of the shuttle box simultaneouslywith the checking member. n

8. The shuttle box set forth in claim 7 wherein a second guide member onthe shuttle box is provided fc.' the wall along which the latter slides,any heat resulting from movement ofthe checking member relative to thefirst named guide member or movement of the wall along the second guidemember being developed at points spaced from the shuttle.

9. In a shuttle box having an inner end to receive an approachingshuttle and having a shuttle engaging wall extending along one sidethereof from the inner to the outer end of the box, a shuttle checkingmember on the other side of the shuttle box having a shuttle enga"- ingsurface on one side thereof facing said wall and having on the oppositeside thereof a surface inclined toward the outer end of the shuttle boxand the axis of the latter, a guide member fixed with respect to theshuttle box having an inclined surface substantially parallel to saidinclined surface of the checking member, and

means on the checking member extending into the path of the shuttle tobe engaged by the latter and moved thereby and when thus moved effectinglengthwise movement of the checking member with respect to the shuttlebox, said inclined surfaces on the checking member and guide membereffecting movement of the checking member toward said wall and againstthe shuttle incident to movement of said operating means by the shuttle.

l0. ln a shuttle box having an inner end to receive an approachingshuttle and having a wall extending along one side thereof from theinner to the outer end of the box, a shuttle checking member mounted forlengthwise movement on the shuttle box having a shuttle engaging surfacefacing the wall on one side thereof and having on the opposite sidethereof a surface inclined toward the axis of the shuttle box and theouter end of the latter, guide means having an inclined surfacesubstantially parallel to said inclined surface on the checking member,and a part of said checking member adjacent to the outer end of theshuttle box extending into the path of the shuttle to be engaged by thelatter and moved by the shuttle incident to its movement into theshuttle box to give a lengthwise movement to the checking member in thedirection of motion of the shuttle, said inclined surfaces cooperatingduring said lengthwise movement of the checking member by the operatingmeans to move the checking member transversely of the shuttle box toforce the shuttle engaging surface on the checking member against theshuttle and in turn force the latter against the shuttle engagingsurface of said wall.

l1. The shuttle box set forth in claim l0 wherein said wall is mountedfor sliding movement with respect to the shuttle box in the direction ofthe length of the latter and is provided with a part similar to saidpart on the shuttle checking member extending into the path of theshuttle and moved by the latter to cause simultaneous movement of saidwall with the checking member in a direction from the inner end to theouter end of the shuttle box.

l2. In a shuttle box having an inner end to receive the approachingshuttle and having a wall extending along one side thereof from theinner end to the outer end of the box, a checking member mounted forlengthwise movement with respect to the shuttle box having a surfacefacing said wall to engage the shuttle and having also a surfaceinclined toward the axis of the shuttle box and toward the outer endthereof, guide means fixed with respect to the shuttle box having aninclined surface parallel to said inclined surface on the checkingmember, said inclined surfaces being parallel and causing said checkingmember to move transversely of the shuttle box toward said wall andmaintain said shuttle engaging surface of the checking member parallelto said wall when the checking member has a lengthwise movement towardthe outer end of the shuttle box, and means associated with the checkingmember extending into the path of the shuttle engaged by the latter andmoved thereby and when thus moved by the shuttle causing longitudinalmovement of the shuttle checking member toward the outer end of saidshuttle box.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,556,037 Kennedy June 5, 1951

